Another video game review for you all – this time a collection of a couple classing side scrolling shoot-em up games, R-Type 1 & 2, as re-released on Playstation Network (as an emulated version of a PS1 game – which is almost $20 cheaper than buying it off E-Bay).

Company Credits

Title: R-Types
Developers: IREM
System: PS1 (Currently
released in an emulated format on the Playstation Network –
contains R-Type 1 & 2, originally released in arcades)
Release
Date: February 28, 1999 (R-Type was originally released in arcades in
July 1987, R-Type 2 was originally released in 1989)
Game Type:
Shump (Side-scrolling Spaceship Shooter)

Premise

R-Type: (Going from the
official story information from Irem) In the 26^th
century, humanity developed a biological weapon called the Bydo to
use against it’s extra-terrestrial enemies. They were intended to be
sent through a wormhole to an alien galaxy where they would go active
and destroy them. However, they became active in our system and a
desperate battle was fought against the Bydo until they were sent
into another dimension by an “special weapon”. The Bydo
emerged in the 22^nd
century, again seeking to destroy humanity. You are the pilot of the
R-9a “Arrowhead” sent out to do battle against the Bydo
and destroy them for the safety of humanity.

R-Type II: Several years
later, the Bydo, thought destroyed in the last game, has returned. As
the pilot of the new R-9c, you must set out to destroy the Bydo once
again.

High Point

The game is an excellent arcade port of both games, replicating
the look and sounds of the original games. Unless you’re using MAME,
you’re probably not going to find a better port. Now, the game is
extremely difficult, which is good for those who like that sort of
thing, but if you love to play shumps but can’t bet them (like, well,
me), there are cheat codes to give you, say, invulnerabilty.

Low Point

You need to have an analog stick for this game. The D-Pad just
doesn’t cut it here – I bring this up because PS1 games, played
emulated on the PS3, either purchased through the PSN store or
through the physical disk only work with the D-Pad, not with the
analog stick. So, either try your luck with an arcade stick to see if
you can bluff it (as people will buying more of these, I suspect,
with the forthcoming release of Street Fighter 4) or play this game
on a PS2 or PS1 so you can use a stick, because you’re not going to
make it without it. Note – I did have to use cheats to complete
the game because I don’t have an arcade stick, and I’m playing the
PSN release of the game. However, I did try to complete the game
before using cheats. I failed.

Oh, and the Shotgun Laser from R-Type 2 is completely useless.

The Scores

Originality: It’s a
re-release of two arcade ports of side-scrolling shoot-em-up games
(ala Gradius). 3 out of 6

Story: To get the story, I
had to go to Wikipedia and Irem’s own web page. Other than that, the
story as depicted in the schedule is pretty sketchy – but most
people aren’t playing these games for the story. 2 out of 6.

Graphics: The graphics in
the game are 2D sprites – but they’re nice looking 2D sprites.
In general, R-Type has graphics like a stellar looking NES game/first
generation SNES game. R-Type 2 has graphics like some of the best
SNES games. 4 out of 6

Sound: Again, considering
the era these games came out, the sound isn’t as good as modern
games, but it still sounds alright – the sound that is there is
vibrant and clear. 3 out of 6.

Playability: That depends
on the player. If you have someone to play it with, either to try an
get the highest score or to see who can go the longest on one credit,
then you should get plenty of fun out of it. If it’s you, just you,
and nobody else but you, the replay factor will be limited. However,
you if you like shumps this is one to have in your library. 3 out of
6.

Immersion: These are great
arcade games, and draw you in as such. 5 out of 6.

Overall: In general, these
are decent ports of two of the best arcade shoot-em-ups of all time.
The graphics and sound are up to par with the original arcade
release. The fact that the controls aren’t up to the same standards
costs this game a lot though. 3 out of 6.

In total, R-Types for the PS1
(as released on PSN) gets 23 out of 42.

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